Unfortunately, no matter how fast they were, if someone didn't want them to leave, they were helpless.
"Who are you people?"
They were people?!
Chu Lingwei turned around. There was no one behind her, but a ninth-tier spiritual beast with a dragon's head and a snake's body.
Chu Lingwei and the others gasped. No wonder they couldn't escape no matter how hard they tried.
A ninth-tier spiritual beast was on the verge of shapeshifting, equivalent to a human cultivator in the Dominator realm. To her, a mere cultivator in the Spirit Wheel realm, it was as weak as an ant.
What kind of luck was this?
Chu Lingwei couldn't help but smile bitterly. She hadn't seen a living creature for days, and the first one she encountered was a ninth-tier spiritual beast. This was practically a death sentence.
"Greetings, senior."
Chu Lingwei stepped forward and bowed to the dragon-headed, snake-bodied spiritual beast. "This junior was merely passing through and has disturbed senior. I hope senior will not take offense."
"Passing through?" The dragon-headed, snake-bodied spiritual beast snorted upon hearing this. "Who doesn't know this is my territory? How dare you intrude?"
"Senior, I am a cultivator who has just entered the Spiritual Domain and did not know this was senior's place." Chu Lingwei was already preparing for battle. If necessary, she would have to enter her spatial artifact.
She felt a sense of helplessness thinking that as soon as she entered, she would have to flee.
"A cultivator entering the Spiritual Domain." The dragon-headed, snake-bodied spiritual beast seemed to ponder Chu Lingwei's words. "I recall some cultivators entering here before and leaving not long ago."
"Reporting to senior, cultivators can only enter here once every hundred years. The last time must have been a century ago."
"A century ago?" The dragon-headed, snake-bodied spiritual beast murmured. Chu Lingwei heard a sigh in its voice. "I never expected to sleep for a century."
Chu Lingwei quickly analyzed the spiritual beast before her. She couldn't sense any killing intent from it, but it was possible that the beast was too powerful for her to perceive.
"Feng Ming, Mao Mao, if it makes any move, we enter the spatial artifact immediately, understand?" If we can't win, we run. Let's prioritize survival.
"Okay, Weiwei, you must come in with us." Feng Ming was worried about Chu Lingwei, who was the boldest and often faced danger head-on.
The dragon-headed, snake-bodied spiritual beast seemed to overhear their conversation and scoffed. With just that laugh, Chu Lingwei and the others were sent flying.
"You humans, instead of cultivating properly in your own domain, you insist on disturbing my slumber here. You deserve to die."
Chu Lingwei had been mentally prepared, but she was still sent flying heavily.
Feng Ming and Huan Mao were sent into the spatial artifact by Chu Lingwei while they were still in mid-air.
"Senior, may I say a few words?" Chu Lingwei endured the pain and stared at the dragon-headed, snake-bodied spiritual beast opposite her. Its head was like a dragon's, but its body was still that of a snake.
Chu Lingwei had read all the ancient texts on spiritual beasts in the Profound Heaven Continent, but there was no such spiritual beast. Not even among demonic beasts was there such a species.
"Aren't you afraid of death?" The spiritual beast took a step forward, shrinking its body to stand directly in front of Chu Lingwei, staring into her eyes with amusement. "Even if you are not afraid of me, you will all die."
"Why?" Chu Lingwei struggled to get up and met the spiritual beast's gaze. "I want to know the reason senior wants to kill me. That way, I won't die unjustly, can I?"
"Hahaha..." The spiritual beast burst into laughter, its voice filled with pride and hatred. "You ruined this place. Everyone who enters here must die."
The spiritual beast gave Chu Lingwei no chance to react. Before she could finish speaking, its long tail lashed out towards her neck.
Chu Lingwei summoned her purple bell to block its tail and thrust her Ice Jade Cold Frost Sword forward.
Even if she had to escape, she wanted to make the other party suffer a small loss, just to feel a little better.
"You dare to injure me."
Its tail had been grazed, and the spiritual beast roared. This insignificant human cultivator was too despicable to dare injure it.
"Do I have no choice but to let you kill me?" Chu Lingwei smirked. She had already angered the spiritual beast before her. She was no match for it and had to escape quickly.
Just as Chu Lingwei was about to enter her spatial artifact, a spiritual sword suddenly stabbed towards the spiritual beast's vulnerable point.
This sword?!
Before Chu Lingwei could react, her body was lifted and she was placed safely on solid ground.
"Fellow Daoist, are you alright?"
A male cultivator in the Spirit Wheel realm, with a calm expression and no ripple in his eyes, did not look at Chu Lingwei but stared at the spiritual beast opposite him.
"A beast dares to injure people here?"
As the male cultivator spoke, he flew forward, gripped his returning sword, and attacked the spiritual beast again.
Chu Lingwei watched the male cultivator before her in shock. He showed no fear in the face of a powerful opponent, not even a hint of retreat.
"So powerful?!"
Chu Lingwei muttered to herself, momentarily forgetting her injuries, her eyes fixed on the battle between the male cultivator and the ninth-tier spiritual beast.
"Ah."
The power of the ninth-tier spiritual beast was immense. Chu Lingwei, standing at the side, was still injured by its residual power.
"Fellow Daoist, it is dangerous here. You should leave quickly." The male cultivator's voice echoed.
"But what about you?" Chu Lingwei wanted to help. After all, this male cultivator had just saved her, and it would be ungracious to leave just like that.
"Fellow Daoist, please leave. I can handle this alone." The male cultivator's voice came again, with a hint of sternness.
The male cultivator's voice was undeniable. Chu Lingwei knew that staying would only be a hindrance. She nodded, "Alright, fellow Daoist, I'll move a step further."
Chu Lingwei summoned her flying artifact and quickly sped away.
As she left, Chu Lingwei looked back and saw the male cultivator still fighting the spiritual beast, with no clear winner yet.
"Weiwei, that male cultivator is so powerful." Feng Ming, inside the spatial artifact, had a clear view of the situation outside and couldn't help but exclaim.
He was a Spirit Wheel realm cultivator, yet he could fight a ninth-tier spiritual beast.
"Didn't you notice that this cultivator is not among the top hundred in the hundred-year competition?" Cultivators with sufficient cultivation could have photographic memories.
Before setting off, Chu Lingwei had reviewed the list of the top hundred cultivators and their appearances.
The cultivator who had saved her just now was not one of the participants in the hundred-year competition.
"Yes, he really doesn't seem to be."
Feng Ming shouted in surprise. She remembered now. This male cultivator looked nothing like the top hundred cultivators from the hundred-year competition.
"That's impossible. Only a hundred people can enter the Spiritual Domain." Huan Mao was also astonished. The reason for selecting a hundred participants in the hundred-year competition was that only a hundred people could enter the Spiritual Domain.